The Gator men's basketball team enjoyed a successful home opener on Tuesday night, defeating Florida Atlantic by 90-45 margin in front of a crowd of 8,589 fans at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. Florida (2-0) never trailed in notching its 14th consecutive home-opening win, while the Owls fell to 0-2. Florida shot 61.5 percent from the field putting away the Owls.
The triumph also marked UF's 25th-straight victory over in-state competition. The Gators began the game on a 9-0 run, until a two-point shot five minutes into the half put the Owls on the board. Florida continued its strength in the first half, shooting 44.7 percent from the field, while holding FAU to just 26.7 percent. UF's eyes were on the ball all night as the team forced 14 turnovers in the first half alone, and ran that mark up to 23 by the end of the game. The Gators converted the 23 turnovers into 34 points. Florida ended the contest shooting an impressive 52.2 percent from the field, raking in 90 points.
Freshman guard Taureen Green, playing against the Florida Atlantic team coached by his father Sidney, dished out a game-high eight assists and added eight points to the Florida final tally.
The leading point-scorer for the Gators was senior forward Matt Walsh, who poured in 21 points and was 4-of-5 from the three-point line. In one possession alone, Walsh nailed a trey and was granted a shot from the charity stripe, which he sank, following a fowl from FAU's Kahlef Watson. Florida Atlantic then took the ball down the court, but lost the possession as the pass was intercepted by UF and returned to the Florida end of the court for a Walsh dunk and a wild crowd.
Freshman Joakim Noah saw his first collegiate action and was the leading rebounder for Florida. Noah collected nine caroms and put up 11 points on the Florida end of the scoreboard. The freshman hit on 5-of-6 field goal attempts in just 10 minutes of play.
Sophomore forward Chris Richard led UF in blocks, adding three to his career tally. Richard finished the game with 11 points, six rebounds and was 5-of-6 from the field in his 14 minutes of action. Freshman Corey Brewer started his first game for the Orange and Blue and poured in seven points for Florida. Brewer also led the tea in steals, swiping two from the Florida Atlantic defense.
The Gator baskteball team will return to action on Nov. 27, as the team travels to head coach Billy Donovon's alma mater to play Providence at the Orange Bowl Classic, held in Miami Florida. The game tips off at 5 p.m.
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